The Hanuman Circle

As times are advancing, we can find a strong nexus building up gradually between the corporate world and spirituality. It is so because the corporate analysts have realised the fact that on diving deep into the writings of these texts of wisdom, they can catch hold of several insights valuable for professionals.

On flipping through the pages of the epic of Ramayana, one of the prominent characters that pulls our attention in Hanuman- the monkey God. His personality is a blend of various skills and traits, which if imbibed by professionals of the corporate world can prove to be a boon from all perspectives. Prevalent by the name of "The Hanuman Circle", this concept offers seven characteristics traits vis-a-vis the seven qualities which are desires in current day professionals. If this spectrum of qualities gets reflected from the personality of a corporate professional, s/he becomes an asset to the organisation. Verily, today organisations are taking into account these perspectives while recruiting an employee or at the time of his evaluation for project allocation as well as promotion. Not just the employees, leaders too can find exclusive tenets of leadership latent in these traits. On the whole, Hanuman is symbolic of an ideal professional- a personality worth emulating in terms of his traits and characteristics.

... Each alphabet of seven-letter word 'HANUMAN' highlights the seven key traits which should adorn the personality of a professional. Let us take up each trait one by one and find its relevance with respect to the corporate set-up.

'H' STANDS FOR 'HUMILITY' IN DISPOSITION

After successfully completing the project of fetching information regarding the whereabouts of Goddess Sita, Hanuman was back and sat in the holy company of his Lord Rama. Everyone was full of praises for Hanuman. At that moment, even Lord Rama acclaimed the feat accomplished by Hanuman and said- "I am indebted to you, O Hanuman! I will never be able to repay the favour you have done to me." It is generally observed that when a being is applauded for his success, a subtle air of ego and arrogance swells his chest. Whether expressed or not, the sting of ego tends to impact his humility. However, contrary to this, what was the reaction of Hanuman?
Suni prabhu bachana biloki

Mikha Gaya harasi Hanumanta

Charan's pareu Prem

Kula trahi trahi bhagavanta

Hanuman immediately fell in the feet of the Lord and holding them tight, he started wailing, "Save me, Lord! Save me!" Save from what? From the poisonous sting of ego and pride, which hamper one's rating on the scale of humility- an essential trait to be successful in the real sense!... Indeed, there is a great need for modern-day professionals to imbibe this lesson. As such, it is often seen that when one excels in his/her professional career and attains high ranks and positions, one loses drastically on the ground of humility. As a result, one doesn't even hesitate to demean others or underestimate their calibre. However, this rudeness and arrogance in disposition ultimately poses a loss to that individual himself, both personally and professionally.
Here, one more aspect is worth consideration. It is the factor of 'wisdom' while adopting the trait of humility. This goes to say that being humble doesn't mean bowing or submitting to any or everybody. One needs to be wise enough to assess the right person and/or place as to where one needs to be humble and where stern and strict is often confused with being egoistic, which is actually not so. For instance, when Hanuman went to Lanka as a messenger of Rama, he was insulted in the whole assembly of Ravana. There, instead of wearing the expression of meekness, Hanuman boldly said to Ravana- "Treat me as a messenger. Give back me a seat to sit." At that moment, Ravana didn't accede to his request; rather, he mocked Hanuman and sarcastically said- "If you want to sit, then sit on your tail!" So, what did Hanuman do? Well, securing his self-esteem, he smartly outwitted the taunt of Ravana by coiling his tail into a column even higher than Ravana's throne! Similarly,in the corporate world as well, we need to be prudent in differentiating such situations where, instead of bending, we need to be upright with respect to our self-esteem!
To know the other six key traits in the Hanuman circle, with respect to the corporate set-up, read the complete article in May'17 month of English Akhand Gyan Monthly Magazine.